Penicillin allergy is the commonest reported drug allergy with a prevalence of ∼8 –12% depending on the evaluated population. Women are more likely to report a history of drug allergy including penicillin ‘allergy’ than men (11.0% vs. 6.5%) possibly because of the higher number of antibiotic prescriptions for women. The British Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (BSACI) stated guidelines for the management of penicillin and other beta-lactams allergy.
The current article overviews the recommendations stated in this guideline. Penicillin and other beta-lactam antibiotics cause ‘immediate’ and ‘non-immediate’ immunological responses based on the temporal association of onset of symptoms after drug administration. The ‘immediate’ responses are IgE mediated and occur within minutes to 1 h following exposure to the last dose. While the ‘non-immediate’ reactions are non-IgE-mediated…
